1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of videography. More particularly, the present invention is in the field of special effects and virtual reality.
2. Background Art
Videography is an effective medium for delivering evocative and stimulating viewing content to a wide audience. Inevitably, however, even as powerful a content delivery technique as videography is constrained by the practical limitations imposed by its own requirements for recording equipment, appropriate lighting, and other environmental controls. As a result, some scenes that a videographer may envision and wish to incorporate into a presentation, might, because of these practical limitations, never be given full artistic embodiment. Consequently, some aesthetically desirable elements of a video presentation may have to be omitted entirely, or when included, be provided in a less than optimally pleasing or realistic manner.
As specific examples of video presentations that may be shaped by their environment, television sports and news presentations can be heavily reliant on the technical resources of a studio set to support and assure their production standards. A studio set often provides optimal lighting, audio transmission, sound effects, announcer cueing, screen overlays, and production crew support, in addition to other technical advantages. The studio set, however, typically provides a relatively fixed spatial format and therefore may not be able to accommodate especially large, numerous, or dynamically interactive objects without significant modification, making the filming of those objects in studio, costly or perhaps entirely impracticable.
One conventional approach to including video footage of very large, cumbersome, or moving objects in studio set based video productions is to videotape those logistically challenging objects on location, as an alternative to filming them in studio. For example, large or moving objects may be shot remotely, and integrated with a studio based presentation accompanied by commentary from and perhaps simulated interaction by a real-time performer present in studio, such as an anchor or analyst. Unfortunately, this conventional solution requires sacrifice of some of the technical advantages that the studio setting provides, while imposing the sometimes significant production costs flowing from the transport and support of personnel and equipment in the field to provide the remote filming. Furthermore, effective filming of large or cumbersome objects on location may still remain problematic because their unwieldiness may make it difficult for them to be moved smoothly or to be readily manipulated to provide an optimal viewer perspective.
Another conventional approach to compensating for the limitations imposed by studio based video productions makes use of general advances in computing and processing power, which have made rendering virtual objects a realistic alternative to filming live objects that are difficult or expensive to capture. Although this alternative may help control production costs, there are also drawbacks associated with conventional approaches to rendering virtual objects. One significant drawback is that the virtual objects rendered according to conventional approaches are typically unseen by the real-time performers in studio. As a result, the real-time performers must either simulate interaction with a completely invisible object, or look off-stage to a monitor providing cues to the simulated interaction. In either case, there is likely to be a sizeable reality gap for a viewer of the presentation when the virtual object is combined with footage of the real-time performer in action.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a solution for synchronizing a performance by a real-time performer with a virtual object, such that a viewer is presented with a pleasing and convincing simulation of real-time or imagined events.